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The Wire
08-08-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
'You Can't Act Like a Crook': Supreme Court Tells ED, Says Agency Must Function Within Bounds of Law
The apex court made the observation while hearing petitions seeking a review of the its July 2022 ruling which upheld ED's powers of arrest, search, and seizure under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday (August 7) slammed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and told it that it must function strictly within the bounds of the law. It also highlighted the poor conviction rate in cases registered by the agency. "You can't act like a crook," a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N. Kotiswar Singh told the ED on Thursday, reported Times of India. The apex court made the observation while hearing petitions seeking a review of the its July 2022 ruling which upheld ED's powers of arrest, search, and seizure under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Additional solicitor general (ASG) S.V. Raju, who appeared for the Union government and the ED, argued that the review petitions were not maintainable. He described the review petitions as mere 'disguised appeals' against the earlier verdict and claimed that 'influential crooks' exploit the legal process to delay investigations by filing multiple applications, forcing ED officers to focus on court appearances instead of conducting probes. However, Justice Bhuyan raised concerns about the agency's low conviction rate. "You can't act like a crook, you have to act within the four corners of the law. I observed in one of my judgments that ED has registered around 5,000 ECIRs (enforcement case information report) in the past five years but the conviction rate is less than 10 per cent. We are also concerned about ED's image. After 5–6 years of custody, if people are acquitted, who takes responsibility?' said Justice Bhuyan. ASG Raju further said that the agency is often "handicapped" when "influential accused" flee to jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands. Raju pointed out that in 2019, a Supreme Court Constitution bench had already upheld the PMLA's constitutional validity. The hearing of review petitions will be continuing next week. In May this year, the Supreme Court had said that the ED was 'crossing all limits.' 'The ED is crossing all limits…you are totally violating the federal structure of the country,' the top court had said. These utterances were made by a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai as he had rapped the ED in the TASMAC (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation) 'liquor scam' case. The words were used by the country's apex court to question the premier central investigating agency's actions in an Opposition-ruled state. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
The Hindu
07-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Supreme Court questions ‘poor' conviction rate in ED cases
Two separate Benches of the Supreme Court on Thursday (August 7, 2025) questioned the 'poor conviction rates' achieved by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in money laundering cases, when compared to the number of complaints and arrests made by the Central agency. Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, heading a three-judge Bench hearing a review in the Bhushan Steel-JSW case, said the ED had been 'successful' in incarcerating people for years without convictions. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, part of another apex court Bench hearing a batch of review petitions against the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), said, 'Out of about 400 ECIRs you (ED) have registered, less than only 10 have reached conviction.' 'People are in custody for four to five years and finally acquitted. We are equally concerned with the image of the ED,' Justice Bhuyan remarked. Justice Bhuyan also suggested that the ED improve its investigation methods. Influential accused persons blamed Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for the ED, blamed influential accused persons for hampering the 'poor investigators', saying the former park themselves and their money abroad, including in places like the Cayman Islands. Justice Bhuyan responded that to catch a crook, the investigator could not turn into one. 'There is a difference between law-enforcers and persons who violate the law,' the judge replied. Mr. Raju also said that accused persons delaying the trial by filing repeated applications was another reason. 'They do not allow trial to commence. They keep on seeking discharge,' he submitted. Justice Bhuyan said one cannot blame the law or the Constitution for the delay in ED cases. Justice Surya Kant intervened to point out that special courts with a dedicated cadre of judges trying money laundering cases under the PMLA may be the solution.
Time of India
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Special PMLA courts needed to speed up PMLA trials: SC
The Supreme Court has underlined the need for setting up special PMLA courts to ensure expeditious disposal of cases. A three-member bench of justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh stressed on the need for ED to improve its probe. Speaking for the bench, justice Kant told the ED counsel that unless "fast track dedicated courts" are set up, the trials in PMLA cases will remain hanging fire for years. Justice Bhuyan weighed in orally observing that the conviction rate of ED is very low. "Improve your investigation. Only 10% conviction rate," justice Bhuyan told the ED counsel who responded that the rich and powerful accused hire a battery of lawyers and file so many applications with the sole purpose of delaying trial. Productivity Tool Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide By Metla Sudha Sekhar View Program Finance Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By Dinesh Nagpal View Program Finance Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By CA Rahul Gupta View Program Digital Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By Neil Patel View Program Finance Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading By Kunal Patel View Program Productivity Tool Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By Study at home View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program The development took place during the resumed hearing of pleas seeking review of SC's 2022 PMLA ruling that upheld its various provisions . In a related development, SC took strong exception to ' forum shopping ' by certain litigants.
NDTV
07-08-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Enforcement Directorate Can't Act Like "Crook": Top Court Flags Low Conviction Rates
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate cannot act like a "crook" and has to confine itself within the four corners of the law, the Supreme Court said on Thursday as it flagged low conviction rates in cases investigated by the central agency. "We are also concerned for the image of the Enforcement Directorate," a bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh said. The top court is hearing pleas seeking review of the 2022 verdict that upheld the powers of arrest of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Centre and the ED, questioned the maintainability of the review petitions and attributed the low conviction rate to the delaying tactics of "influential accused". "Influential crooks have a lot of wherewithal. They employ a battery of lawyers to file applications after applications at different stages to protract the proceedings, and the investigating officer of the case, instead of devoting time to investigation, keeps on running to court for one application or another," Mr Raju said. Justice Bhuyan referred to one of his judgements and said that of the 5,000 cases registered by the ED in the past five years, there were less than 10 per cent convictions and this factual statement was substantiated by the minister in Parliament. "You can't act like a crook; you have to act within the four corners of the law. I observed in one of my judgments that ED has registered around 5,000 ECIRs in the past five years, but the conviction rate is less than 10 why we have been insisting that you improve your investigation, as it deals with the liberty of the individual," Justice Bhuyan said. The judge continued, "We are also concerned about ED's image. At the end of 5-6 years of judicial custody, if people are acquitted, who will pay for this?" Justice Kant said the answer to all the problems was having dedicated courts akin to TADA and POTA courts, and the dedicated PMLA courts could conduct day-to-day proceedings, resulting in expeditious disposal of cases. "Yes, influential accused will still file numerous applications, but these accused and their lawyers will know that since it is a day-to-day trial, and their application will be decided the very next day. The time has come to hit them hard. We can't have sympathy for them. I know a magistrate who has to decide 49 applications in a day and pass orders for 10-20 pages in each of them. This cannot go on," he said. Mr Raju further noted that ED is getting "handicapped" after "influential accused" flee to different countries like the Cayman Islands, aside from dealing in cryptocurrencies and other sophisticated methods and impede investigation. On the point of cryptocurrencies, Justice Kant said the government ought to seriously think of regulating it as people were operating different apps and crypto stock exchanges. He said top court's Justice Joymalya Bagchi recently said in a case that a day would not be far when bribe takers would take bribes in cryptocurrency, which will be very difficult for the investigating agencies to investigate. Mr Raju questioned the authenticity of the review petitions, calling them "nothing but appeals" against the 2022 verdict disguised as a review. "For the review, you have to make out a case for error apparent on the face of the record in the 2022 verdict but they have not stated anywhere what the apparent error is. If these reviews are admitted, it would amount to rewriting the 2022 judgment," he said. Raju contended that the constitutional validity of the PMLA was in their favour as the Constitution bench in 2019 in the Roger Mathew case upheld the validity of the statute. "They (petitioners) took a chance and failed in that endeavour. Now they're saying, no, that was wrong, and redo it. A review can't be an appeal in disguise. They must first demonstrate that there is an error apparent on the face of the record when it comes to these two issues. The error apparent on the face of the record should not be an error that should be fished out. A review cannot be for asking. They have to make out an exceptionally strong case for review," Mr Raju said. Justice Kant also enquired about the methodology adopted by ED during arrests and whether grounds of arrest and reasons for arrests were given to the accused. Mr Raju submitted that there was no obligation on the ED under the statute to supply a copy of the ECIR (equivalent to an FIR) to the accused, but courts in subsequent rulings stressed on sharing of grounds and reasons of arrest with accused persons. The hearing would continue next week. In July 2022, the apex court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary upheld the ED's powers to arrest, attach properties involved in money laundering and carry out search and seizure under the PMLA.
Hans India
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
ED can't act like 'crook', must work within four corners of law: SC
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate cannot act like a "crook" and has to confine itself within the four corners of the law, the Supreme Court on Thursday said as it flagged low conviction rates in cases investigated by the central agency. "We are also concerned for the image of the Enforcement Directorate," a bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, N Kotiswar Singh said. The top court is hearing pleas seeking review of the 2022 verdict that upheld powers of arrest of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Centre and the ED, questioned the maintainability of the review petitions and attributed the low conviction rate to the delaying tactics of "influential accused". "Influential crooks have a lot of wherewithal. They employ a battery of lawyers to file applications after applications at different stages to protract the proceedings and the investigating officer of the case instead of devoting time to investigation keeps on running to court for one application or other," Raju said. Justice Bhuyan referred to one of his judgements and said of the 5,000 cases registered by the ED in past five years there were less than 10 per cent convictions and this factual statement was substantiated by the minister in Parliament. "You can't act like a crook, you have to act within the four corners of the law. I observed in one of my judgments that ED has registered around 5,000 ECIRs in the past five years but the conviction rate is less than 10 why we have been insisting that you improve your investigation as it deals with the liberty of the individual," Justice Bhuyan said. The judge continued, "We are also concerned about ED's image. At the end of 5-6 years of judicial custody, if people are acquitted, who will pay for this?" Justice Kant said the answer to all the problems was having dedicated courts akin to TADA and POTA courts and the dedicated PMLA courts could conduct day-to-day proceedings, resulting in expeditious disposal of cases. "Yes, influential accused will still file numerous applications but these accused and their lawyers will know that since it is day-to-day trial and their application will be decided the very next day. Time has come to hit them hard. We can't have sympathy for them. I know a magistrate who has to decide 49 applications in a day and pass orders for 10-20 pages in each of them. This cannot go on," he said. Raju further noted ED getting "handicapped" after "influential accused" flee to different countries like Cayman Islands aside from dealing in crypto-currencies and other sophisticated methods and impede investigation. On the point of crypto-currencies, Justice Kant said the government ought to seriously think of regulating it for people were operating different apps and crypto stock exchanges. He said top court's Justice Joymalya Bagchi recently said in a case that a day was not far when bribe takers would take bribes in crypto-currency, which will be very difficult for the investigating agencies to investigate. Raju questioned the authenticity of the review petitions, calling them "nothing but appeals" against the 2022 verdict disguised as review. "For the review, you have to make out a case for error apparent on the face of record in the 2022 verdict but they have not stated anywhere what is error apparent. If these reviews are admitted it would amount to rewriting the 2022 judgement," he said. Raju contended that the constitutional validity of the PMLA was in their favour as the Constitution bench in 2019 in the Roger Mathew case upheld the validity of the statute. "They (petitioners) took a chance and failed in that endeavour. Now they're saying, no, that was wrong and redo it. Review can't be an appeal in disguise. They must first demonstrate that there is an error apparent on the face of the record when it comes to these two issues. The error apparent on the face of the record should not be an error that should be fished out. Review cannot be for asking. They have to make out an exceptionally strong case for review," Raju said. Justice Kant also enquired about the methodology adopted by ED during arrests and whether grounds of arrest and reasons for arrests were given to the accused. Raju submitted there was no obligation on the ED under the statute to supply a copy of the ECIR (equivalent to an FIR) to the accused but courts in subsequent ruling stressed on sharing grounds and reasons of arrest with accused persons. The hearing would continue next week. In July 2022, the apex court in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary upheld the ED's powers to arrest, attach properties involved in money laundering and carry out search and seizure under the PMLA.
